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Daily Sitka Sentinel

A h o m e - o w n e d n e w s p a p e r s e r v i n g S i t k a s i n c e 1 9 4 0 w w w. s i t k a s e n t i n e l . c o m

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Volume 74 No. 123

Sitka, Alaska

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Students will be putting on final shows at the Performing Arts Center

this week. The ballet and modern dance students perform Thursday at
7 p.m. in a show that also includes African dance, acrobatics and theater. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Gay Rights

By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) In a historic day for gay rights, the Supreme
Court gave the nations legally married gay couples equal federal footing
with all other married Americans on
Wednesday and also cleared the way
for same-sex marriages to resume in
California.
In deciding its first cases on the issue, the high court did not issue the
sweeping declaration sought by gay
rights advocates that would have allowed same-sex couples to marry anywhere in the country. But in two rulings, both by bare 5-4 majorities, the
justices gave gay marriage supporters
encouragement in confronting the na-

tionwide patchwork of laws that outlaw such unions in roughly three dozen
states.
Gay-rights supporters cheered and
hugged outside the court. Opponents
said they mourned the rulings and
vowed to keep up their fight.
In the first of the narrow rulings in
its final session of the term, the court
wiped away part of a federal anti-gay
marriage law, the Defense of Marriage
Act, that has kept legally married samesex couples from receiving tax, health
and pension benefits that are otherwise
available to married couples.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, joined by
the four liberal justices, said the purpose of the law was to impose a disadvantage and a stigma upon all who

BY BECKY BOHRER
Associated Press
JUNEAU (AP) A Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group on
Wednesday gave its Golden Fleece
award for frivolous public spending to
the Knik Arm bridge project in southcentral Alaska.
Erich Zimmermann, a senior policy
analyst with Taxpayers for Common
Sense, said the award is given to projects seen as particularly good examples of government waste.
Taxpayers for Common Sense said
on its website that the group behind the
bridge project, the Knik Arm Bridge

and Toll Authority, or KABATA, has

failed Alaskas citizens and wasted
millions of federal taxpayer dollars,
with little to show for it.
Limited dollars and ever-growing
needs mean only the most important
projects be constructed, the watchdog
group said. The Knik Arm Bridge fails
to achieve this standard, the cheerleading of KABATA notwithstanding.
KABATA spokeswoman Shannon
McCarthy said its common for outside groups to disparage Alaska infrastructure projects. She took issue with
some of the assertions by Taxpayers
Continued on back page

Knik Arm Bridge Project

Wins Golden Fleece Award

enter into same-sex marriages made

lawful by the unquestioned authority
of the states.
President Barack Obama praised the
courts ruling against the federal marriage act, labeling the law discrimination enshrined in law.
It treated loving, committed gay
and lesbian couples as a separate and
lesser class of people, Obama said in
a statement. The Supreme Court has
righted that wrong, and our country is
better off for it.
House Speaker John Boehner, ROhio, said he was disappointed in the
outcome of the federal marriage case
and hoped states continue to define
marriage as the union of a man and
a woman. Boehner, as speaker, had
stepped in as the main defender of the
law before the court after the Obama
administration declined to defend it.
The other case, dealing with Californias constitutional ban on same-sex
marriage, was resolved by an unusual
lineup of justices in a technical legal
fashion that said nothing about gay
marriage. But the effect was to leave
in place a trial courts declaration that
Californias Proposition 8 ban was
unconstitutional. Gov. Jerry Brown
quickly ordered that marriage licenses
be issued to gay couples as soon as a
federal appeals court lifts its hold on
the lower court ruling. That will take
least 25 days, the appeals court said.
California, where gay marriage was
briefly legal in 2008, would be the 13th
state, along with the District of Columbia, to allow same-sex couples to marry and would raise the share of the U.S.
population in gay marriage states to 30

percent. Six states have adopted samesex marriage in the past year, amid a
rapid evolution in public opinion that
now shows majority support for the
right to marry in most polls.
The 12 other states are Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New
Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island,
Vermont and Washington.
The days rulings are clear for people who were married and live in states
that allow same-sex marriage. They
now are eligible for federal benefits.
The picture is more complicated for
same-sex couples who traveled to another state to get married, or who have
moved from a gay marriage state since
being wed.
Their eligibility depends on the benefits they are seeking. For instance, immigration law focuses on where people
were married, not where they live. But
eligibility for Social Security survivor
benefits basically depend on where a
couple is living when a spouse dies.
This confusing array of regulations
is reflected more broadly in the disparate treatment of gay couples between
states. And the courts decision did not
touch on another part of the federal
marriage law that says a state does not
have to recognize a same-sex marriage
performed elsewhere.
Indeed, the outcome of the cases
had supporters of gay marriage already
anticipating their next trip to the high
court, which they reason will be needed to legalize same-sex unions in all 50
states.
The Human Rights Campaigns
president, Chad Griffin, said his goal
is to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide within five years through a
combination of ballot measures, court
challenges and expansion of anti-discrimination laws.
The rulings came 10 years to the
day after the courts Lawrence v. Texas
decision that struck down state bans
Continued on back page

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Assembly discussed the pros
and cons of tourism-related street closures Tuesday night before voting 4-2
against allowing any more of the pedestrian-only events for the rest of the
summer.
An ad-hoc downtown revitalization
committee wanted to have a section of
Lincoln Street closed to vehicles on
four days this summer to promote business and create a visitor-friendly atmosphere.
The first closure was held June 12,
and was met with mixed reviews. Interim city administrator Jay Sweeney
canceled the next two scheduled, and
handed the issue over to the Assembly.

At Tuesday nights regular meeting the Assembly narrowly passed a
motion to cancel the rest of the closures proposed by the committee unless members come up with solutions
to objections raised by the public and
merchants who felt they were left out.
Mike Reif, Pete Esquiro, Thor
Christianson and Mayor Mim McConnell voted in favor of the motion, and
Phyllis Hackett and Matthew Hunter
voted against.
Reif said he didnt object to a plan
thats well thought out and distributes
the benefits more equitably.
We dont have it right, and I dont
think we can get it right during this
visitor season, he said.
McConnell said she would favor a
street closure but the Assembly should
vote on it.
The closure plan was one of a
number developed by the revitalization group. Members said their goal
was to bring more people downtown,
create a more welcoming atmosphere
and give visitors a good impression of
Sitka. The Assembly has already au-

thorized the committee to spend up to

$25,000 to implement the various proposals for improving the appearance of
downtown. A few at the time said that
they would like a public discussion on
a street closure.
Esquiro said he was disappointed
to see the group go ahead with the June
12 closure after Assembly members
had asked for further public discussion.
I thought we were clear that would
have to happen, he said.
Hackett said she supported the idea
of a street closure but thought the focus should be on the community rather
than the visitor. She said visitors will
remember Sitka for its natural beauty.
McConnell said she also liked the
idea of aiming the closure events more
toward local residents.
The Assembly in general asked for
better planning and better coordination with groups that are affected. The
strongest complaint came from a feeling that the promotion of shopping was
focused on the pedestrian-only section
of town, to the detriment of other businesses on one of the busiest cruise days
of the year.
Reif compared days like that to
Christmas time for the merchants.
A handful of people testified for
and against the June 12 event. Some
complained that shops outside the closure area lost business, that there was
no planning for the booths set up in the
street, that parking places were lost and
vehicle access to the churches was restricted. Chamber of Commerce director Jennifer Robinson said the business
community noted no change to a loss
of business, and the overall response
to the event ran from indifferent to
strongly opposed.
Most businesses want minimal
Continued on back page

By TOM HESSE
Sentinel Staff Writer
Reports of bears coming into town
have been running at twice the rate of
an average year, but its no surprise,
says Fish and Game Wildlife Biologist
Phil Mooney.
We had a lot of bears in earlier this
year, something we kind of predicted
because of the lack of food. We probably had close to at least double the
number of calls we usually get in April
and May, Mooney said.
He said bears around Sitka woke
up early this year because they had put
on less weight before they hibernated.
And the earlier a bear wakes up, the
less food there will be in the wild, making it more likely that it will head for
the garbage cans. Bear activity around
town is decreasing now that the berries
are starting to ripen, Mooney said.
Weve seen a pretty good reduction of bear activity in town because
theres more food available in the
mountains now, he said.
Recent high temperatures have
also played a role in the reduction of
bear sightings, since the warm weather
causes bears to be less active, he said.
A big male bear has been popping
up in town once a week or so, and an
unaccompanied two- or three-year-old
has been getting into garbage cans, he
said, and a bear was seen in the Starrigavan area several days ago.

resistant) cans and have been trying to

throw food out early.
Thats not a good idea, he said.
Bear resistant doesnt mean bear
proof, Mooney said.
Residents should take garbage to
the transfer station if they cant wait
until pickup day to put it in their own
garbage cans, he said.
And if you smoke fish, do it early
in the day and clean up before dark
when the bears come out, he advised.
People need to be careful. Thats
an activity people really want to complete during the daytime hours and not
the nighttime hours, Mooney said.
Another increase in bear activity
likely will occur when the salmon runs
begin, he said.
Theyll start to station themselves
around Indian River, Mooney said.
(Then) as the fish push up further
theyll start to distribute the bears.
As for the local trails, Mooney said,
activity has been fairly light recently. A
bear was spotted near Mosquito Cove
awhile ago but otherwise there havent
been many conflicts.
Sitka Mountain Rescue Director
Don Kluting surprised a bear on the
Gavan Hill-Harbor Mountain ridge
trail last week. Mooney said hikers
should always take precautions but remember that bears usually dont want
an encounter any more than you do.
The bears kind of know the drill,
too, he said.

This Year a Busy One

For Bear Calls in Sitka

Last December the Assembly

passed an ordinance tightening regulations on the handling of household
garbage.
The whole idea is just to not put
food waste out there until the day of
pickup, Mooney said. Weve had
some people who have the new (bear-

Rumors Wrong: Jazz On

Waterfront Will be Held

FINE ART New York painter and Sitka Fine Arts

Camp instructor David Atkin leads a class this afternoon at the Yaw Art Center on the SJ Campus. Visual
arts students will be presenting their work at the Fine
Arts Camp exhibition at the Yaw Art Center and writ-

ers and chamber music groups present their work in

Rasmuson on Friday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Students
pictured are, from left, Finn Musslewhite, Tim McKenna, Jonah McClenahan, Sebastian Rojas, Maddy
Maurer and Katie Druyvestein. (Sentinel photo)
CYAN

RED

By Sentinel Staff
The upcoming annual Jazz on the
Waterfront concert will go ahead as
planned 7 p.m. Saturday on the SJ
campus.
Sitka Fine Arts Camp staff and volunteers have been busy over the last
few days countering rumors that the
longstanding fund-raising event had
been canceled. The incorrect cancellation notice was sent out June 20 on
Facebook.
Later that day, and again on Saturday, SFAC staff notified Facebook
friends that the event is going ahead
as scheduled despite the persisting rumors to the contrary.
Facebook friends, we need your
help!!! said Saturdays post on the
YELLOW

8 Pages

Back to Drawing Board

For Street Closing Plan

Final Week
Sitka Fine Arts Camp dance instructor Ashley Werhun, left, talks with
students after class as student Rebekah Loeffler, age 12, continues a
practice this afternoon in the Allen Hall gold dance studio. This is the
last week for the middle school session of the Sitka Fine Arts Camp.

/sitkasentinel

SFAC Facebook page. There are still

untrue rumors floating around that Jazz
on the Waterfront is canceled, which is
NOT TRUE. If you could please share
this post with your friends so that we
can quickly spread the word that Jazz
on the Waterfront is NOT CANCELED
and will still be happening on Saturday
June 29th.
Jazz on the Waterfront will take
place in the Odess Theater in Allen
Hall on the SJ campus. There will be a
catered dinner, music by a 40-piece big
band, entertainment by other combinations of community members and Sitka
Fine Arts Camp staff, and an auction of
donated items.
Tickets are $65 and are on sale at
Old Harbor Books.

BLACK

Cruise Ships
To Lighter at
Bridge Only

Interim City Administrator Jay

Sweeney announced today that for
safety reasons all cruise ship passengers will be tendered to the OConnell
Bridge lightering facility until further
notice.
Sweeney said he made the decision
after walking through the Centennial
Hall construction site and adjacent areas Monday and again today, and considering the routes visitors were taking
as they walked from the Crescent Harbor dock.
Sweeney was joined today by Public Works Director Michael Harmon,
Centennial Hall manager Don Kluting and Harbor Master Stan Eliason to
view the situation while the dock was
being used for lightering by a ship in
port.
We had concerns as a staff that the
site was not yet ready, Sweeney said.
The consensus was ... that it presented
a risk to the safety of our visitors at this
time, so it makes sense to use a finished
facility.